Helicopter Liming to Help Restore Acidified Forest Soil Productivity

Decades of acid deposition across northeastern North America has caused excess leaching of soil base cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+) and increases in bioavailable aluminum (Al3+) that, in combination, have resulted in widespread decreases in potential forest productivity. Despite major reductions in SO2 and NOx emissions since the 1990s, forest soils across the region have shown few signs of recovery from acid deposition impacts and it could take decades or centuries for natural recovery to occur. As a result, affected forests are stressed, less productive, and more prone to climate change-induced damage. Helicopter liming of upland forests may be an effective way to jump-start the soil recovery process. Here we report on early results (one-year) from a helicopter liming trial in Nova Scotia, Canada where 10 tonnes/ha of dolomitic limestone was applied to approximately 8 ha of mature red spruce (Picea rubens) and mature tolerant hardwood (Acer spp. and Betula spp.) forest. Data are presented on (i) the effectiveness of helicopter liming in forests; (ii) the initial chemical response of forest floor organic and mineral soil horizons; and (iii) the initial chemical response of red spruce foliage, maple foliage, and ground vegetation. Preliminary results showed that despite non-uniform lime distribution, there were significant increases (P < 0.05) in Ca2+, Mg2+, pH, and base saturation (BS), and significant decreases in total acidity in forest floor organic horizons in both the mature red spruce and tolerant hardwood stands; however, there were no significant changes in Al3+. The initial chemical response in sugar maple and red spruce foliage showed significant increases in the Ca/Al molar ratio . &#160;The initial response in ground vegetation (Schreber&#8217;s moss; Pleurozium schreberi and wood fern; Dryopteris intermedia) showed significant increases in Ca2+ and decreases in K+ for both species; however, Schreber&#8217;s moss also showed significant increases in Mg2+ and Al3+ while wood fern did not. These early chemical results are promising and further support the use of helicopter liming as an effective tool to combat lingering effects from acid deposition in acidified forests.

Download Full-text

Nutrient cycling in Huntington Forest and Turkey Lakes deciduous stands: nitrogen and sulfur

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x92-060 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 457-464 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

M.J. Mitchell ◽

N.W. Foster ◽

J.P. Shepard ◽

I.K. Morrison

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Forest Floor ◽

Sugar Maple ◽

Tree Mortality ◽

C:N Ratio ◽

Mineral Soil ◽

Stand Age ◽

Adirondack Mountains ◽

Contributing Factors ◽

Turkey Lakes Watershed

Biogeochemical cycling of S and N was quantified at two hardwood sites (Turkey Lakes watershed (TLW) and Huntington Forest (HF)) that have sugar maple (Acersaccharum Marsh.) as the major overstory component and are underlain by Spodosols (Podzols). TLW and HF are located in central Ontario (Canada) and the Adirondack Mountains of New York (U.S.A), respectively. Major differences between the TLW and HF sites included stand age (300 and 100 years for TLW and HF, respectively), age of dominant trees (150–300 and 100 years for TLW and HF, respectively), and the presence of American beech (Fagusgrandifolia Ehrh.) at HF as well as lower inputs of SO42− and NO3− (differences of 99 and 31 mol ion charge (molc)•ha−1•year−1, respectively) at TLW. There was an increase in concentration of SO42− and NO3− after passage through the canopy at both sites. A major difference in the anion chemistry of the soil solution between the sites was the much greater leaching of NO3− at TLW compared with HF (1300 versus 18 molc•ha−1•year−1, respectively). At HF, but not TLW, there was a marked increase in SO42− flux (217 molc•ha−1•year−1) when water leached from the forest floor through the mineral soil. The mineral soil was the largest pool (>80%) of N and S for both sites. The mineral soil of TLW had a C:N ratio of 16:1, which is much narrower than the 34:1 ratio at HF. This former ratio should favor accumulation of NH44+ and NO3− and subsequent NO3− leaching. Laboratory measurements suggest that the forest floor of TLW may have higher N mineralization rates than HF. Fluxes of N and S within the vegetation were generally similar at both sites, except that net requirement of N at TLW was substantially lower (difference of 9.4 kg N•ha−1•year−1). The higher NO3− leaching from TLW compared with HF may be attributed mostly to stand maturity coupled with tree mortality, but the absence of slow decomposing beech leaf litter and lower C:N ratio in the soil of the former site may also be contributing factors.

Download Full-text

Decaying Logs as Germination Sites in Northern Hardwood Forests

Northern Journal of Applied Forestry ◽

10.1093/njaf/14.4.178 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 178-182 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Gregory G. McGee ◽

John P. Birmingham

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Forest Floor ◽

Sugar Maple ◽

Ground Cover ◽

Tree Regeneration ◽

Red Spruce ◽

Yellow Birch ◽

Northern Hardwood Forests ◽

Northern Hardwood ◽

Soil Scarification

Abstract While several authors have noted tree regeneration on decaying logs, the role that "nurse logs" play in maintaining tree diversity in eastern North American forests has remained unquantified. We sampled small seedling (≤ 5 cm high) densities of seven tree species on and directly adjacent to logs in two northern hardwood stands in the Adirondack mountains of New York. Polar ordination of 42 microsite plots revealed distinctly different small seedling communities on logs vs. forest floor. Yellow birch and red spruce densities were 24 times and 5 times greater on logs than forest floor, while those of sugar maple and striped maple were 8 times and 4 times greater on the forest floor. Maintaining a natural level (~5% ground cover) of well distributed logs can supplement site preparation techniques such as soil scarification to provide regeneration sites for yellow birch and red spruce, particularly in heavily stocked northern hardwood stands. North. J. Appl. For. 14(4):178-182.

Download Full-text

Carbon and nitrogen stocks in Norwegian forest soils — the importance of soil formation, climate, and vegetation type for organic matter accumulation

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/cjfr-2015-0467 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 46 (12) ◽

pp. 1459-1473 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Line Tau Strand ◽

Ingeborg Callesen ◽

Lise Dalsgaard ◽

Heleen A. de Wit

Keyword(s):

Forest Soil ◽

Forest Floor ◽

Mineral Soil ◽

Soil Formation ◽

Ground Vegetation ◽

Soil C ◽

Spruce Forests ◽

Podzolic Soils ◽

C Stocks ◽

C And N

Relationships between soil C and N stocks and soil formation, climate, and vegetation were investigated in a gridded database connected to the National Forest Inventory in Norway. For mineral soil orders, C and N stocks were estimated to be 11.1–19.3 kg C·m−2 and 0.41–0.78 kg N·m−2, respectively, declining in the following order: Gleysols > Podzols > Brunisols > Regosols. Organic peat-type soils stored, on average, 31.3 kg C·m−2 and 1.10 kg N·m−2, whereas shallow Organic folisols stored, on average, 10.2 kg C·m−2 and 0.34 kg N·m−2. For Norway’s 120 000 km2 of forest, the total of soil C stocks was estimated to be 1.83 Gt C, with a 95% CI of 1.71–1.95 Gt C. Podzolic soils comprise the largest soil group and store approximately 50% of the forest soil C. Sixty percent of the soil C stock in Podzolic soils was stored in the mineral soil, increasing with temperature and precipitation. Poorly drained soil types store approximately 47% of the total forest soil C in Norway. Soils with water saturation have large C stocks mainly in the forest floor, suggesting that they are more susceptible to forest management and environmental change. Soil C stocks under pine and spruce forests were similar, although pine forests had larger C stocks in the forest floor, while spruce forests had the highest C stocks in the mineral soil compartment. C stocks in the forest floor increase from dry to moist ground vegetation, while ground vegetation nutrient classes reflect better the C and N stocks in the mineral soil.

Download Full-text

Acid Deposition and Nutrient Leaching from Deciduous Vegetation and Podzolic Soils at the Turkey Lakes Watershed

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f88-272 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 45 (S1) ◽

pp. s96-s100 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

N. W. Foster ◽

J. A. Nicolson

Keyword(s):

Acid Deposition ◽

Forest Floor ◽

Mineral Soil ◽

Soil N ◽

Ion Concentrations ◽

Podzolic Soils ◽

Native Soil ◽

Turkey Lakes Watershed ◽

A Minor

Mean annual ion concentrations and ion fluxes in precipitation induced by contact with a maple–birch forest and soil were determined for 1981–85 at the Turkey Lakes Watershed (47°03′N, 84°15′W). Neutralization of atmospherically deposited H+ was effected by the canopy and mineral soil. Sulphate was an important counter-ion for K+ leached from the vegetation. Acid deposition had a minor impact on the quality of stemflow and forest floor percolate, which were enriched in K+ and Ca2+ mobilized in association with organic anions. Calcium and Mg2+ were leached from the mineral soil in association with SO42− and NO3−. Sulphate was derived largely from acid deposition, and NO3− from both precipitation and nitrification of native soil N.

Download Full-text

Long-term effects of a forest amelioration experiment

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x01-169 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 120-128 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

R Jandl ◽

F Starlinger ◽

M Englisch ◽

E Herzberger ◽

E Johann

Keyword(s):

Forest Floor ◽

Roe Deer ◽

Mineral Soil ◽

Forest Growth ◽

Stem Volume ◽

Ground Vegetation ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Significant Treatment ◽

Stand Conversion ◽

A Site

We evaluated the soil chemistry, plant species composition, and forest growth rate on a site where a site amelioration project had been realized 30 years earlier. The initial goal of the project was the improvement of a site that had been degraded by litter raking. We wanted to know which amelioration method produced a sustainable result and how different treatments might be rated by today's standards. Treatments included fertilization, underplanting with N-fixing plants, and a combination of both. The amelioration was combined with stand conversion by means of natural regeneration and spruce underplanting. In all treatments, a spruce-dominated stand replaced the secondary pine stand. The biomass of the formerly recalcitrant forest floor (143 Mg·ha1) was reduced by 30 to 50% in treated plots, thereby reducing the total soil pool of C, N, and exchangeable cations. The mineral soil of treated plots was enriched with N, Ca, and Mg. An increase in pH was restricted to the forest floor. The C pool of treated soils was much smaller than that of the control plots. However, the loss from the soil was at least partly offset by increased growth rates of the aboveground tree biomass. In treated plots, the stem volume was more than twice that of control plots (38.3 m3). Soil chemical data and the composition of the ground vegetation suggest that even the control plots have changed compared with pre-treatment conditions. Comparison of different blocks of the experiment suggests that the exclusion of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) by fencing was the most significant treatment required for successful stand conversion. Prior to fencing, deer browsing inhibited the establishment of a new stand.

Download Full-text

Anthropogenic Effects on Forest Ecosystems at Various Spatio-Temporal Scales

The Scientific World JOURNAL ◽

10.1100/tsw.2002.129 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

pp. 827-841 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Michael Bredemeier

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Long Range ◽

Acid Deposition ◽

Soil Degradation ◽

Forest Ecosystems ◽

Global Scale ◽

Soil Productivity ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

The World

The focus in this review of long-term effects on forest ecosystems is on human impact. As a classification of this differentiated and complex matter, three domains of long-term effects with different scales in space and time are distinguished: 1- Exploitation and conversion history of forests in areas of extended human settlement 2- Long-range air pollution and acid deposition in industrialized regions 3- Current global loss of forests and soil degradation.There is an evident link between the first and the third point in the list. Cultivation of primary forestland — with its tremendous effects on land cover — took place in Europe many centuries ago and continued for centuries. Deforestation today is a phenomenon predominantly observed in the developing countries, yet it threatens biotic and soil resources on a global scale. Acidification of forest soils caused by long-range air pollution from anthropogenic emission sources is a regional to continental problem in industrialized parts of the world. As a result of emission reduction legislation, atmospheric acid deposition is currently on the retreat in the richer industrialized regions (e.g., Europe, U.S., Japan); however, because many other regions of the world are at present rapidly developing their polluting industries (e.g., China and India), “acid rain” will most probably remain a serious ecological problem on regional scales. It is believed to have caused considerable destabilization of forest ecosystems, adding to the strong structural and biogeochemical impacts resulting from exploitation history.Deforestation and soil degradation cause the most pressing ecological problems for the time being, at least on the global scale. In many of those regions where loss of forests and soils is now high, it may be extremely difficult or impossible to restore forest ecosystems and soil productivity. Moreover, the driving forces, which are predominantly of a demographic and socioeconomic nature, do not yet seem to be lessening in strength. It can only be hoped that a wise policy of international cooperation and shared aims can cope with this problem in the future.

Download Full-text

Nitrogen storage and availability during stand development in a New Zealand Nothofagus forest

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x01-188 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. 344-352 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

P W Clinton ◽

R B Allen ◽

M R Davis

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Forest Floor ◽

Woody Debris ◽

Mineral Soil ◽

Stand Development ◽

N Availability ◽

Net N Mineralization ◽

Nitrogen Storage ◽

Nothofagus Forest ◽

Mature Stands

Stemwood production, N pools, and N availability were determined in even-aged (10, 25, 120, and >150-year-old) stands of a monospecific mountain beech (Nothofagus solandri var. cliffortioides (Hook. f.) Poole) forest in New Zealand recovering from catastrophic canopy disturbance brought about by windthrow. Nitrogen was redistributed among stemwood biomass, coarse woody debris (CWD), the forest floor, and mineral soil following disturbance. The quantity of N in stemwood biomass increased from less than 1 kg/ha in seedling stands (10 years old) to ca. 500 kg/ha in pole stands (120 years old), but decreased in mature stands (>150 years old). In contrast, the quantity of N stored in CWD declined rapidly with stand development. Although the mass of N stored in the forest floor was greatest in the pole stands and least in the mature stands, N availability in the forest floor did not vary greatly with stand development. The mass of N in the mineral soil (0100 mm depth) was also similar for all stands. Foliar N concentrations, net N mineralization, and mineralizable N in the mineral soil (0100 mm depth) showed similar patterns with stage of stand development, and indicated that N availability was greater in sapling (25 years old) and mature stands than in seedling and pole stands. We conclude that declining productivity in older stands is associated more with reductions in cation availability, especially calcium, than N availability.

Download Full-text

Tolerant hardwood natural regeneration 15 years after various silvicultural treatments on an industrial freehold of northwestern New Brunswick

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc2013-092 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 89 (04) ◽

pp. 512-524 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Martin Béland ◽

Bruno Chicoine

Keyword(s):

New Brunswick ◽

Natural Regeneration ◽

Sugar Maple ◽

Mineral Soil ◽

Soil Disturbance ◽

Betula Alleghaniensis ◽

Yellow Birch ◽

American Beech ◽

Partial Cutting ◽

Selection Cutting

We examined applicability of various partial cutting systems in order to regenerate tolerant hardwood stands dominated by sugar maple (Acer saccarhum), American beech (Fagus grandifolia) and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) on northern New Brunswick J.D. Irving Ltd. freehold land. Sampling of 1065 one-m2 plots in 31 stands managed by selection cutting, shelterwood method and strip or patch cutting and in six control stands allowed a 15-year retrospective study of natural regeneration in stands of low residual densities and with minimal soil disturbance and no control of competing vegetation. Beech regeneration was most abundant in the patch cuts, yellow birch in shelterwood stands and sugar maple in the selection system areas. Results suggest that initial stand conditions influence the composition of the regeneration more than the prescribed treatment. At the stand scale (a few hectares), sugar maple recruitment was positively influenced by its proportion in the initial stand, and negatively by the cover of herbs and shrubs. Yellow birch regeneration was mainly affected by shrub competition. At the plot (1 m2) scale, mineral soil and decayed wood substrates and ground-level transmitted light were determinant factors for yellow birch regeneration. Beech-dominated stands were likely to regenerate to beech. A dense beech sucker understory was promoted in harvested patches. Areas with dense understory of American beech, shrubs, or herbs require site preparation to reduce interference either before or at the time of partial cutting. Shelterwood seed cutting and selection cutting should leave a residual of 12 m2/ha and 17 m2/ha respectively in seed trees uniformly distributed.

Download Full-text

Dynamic of nitrogen and dissolved organic carbon in an alpine forested catchment: atmospheric deposition and soil solution trends

Nature Conservation ◽

10.3897/natureconservation.34.30738 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 ◽

pp. 41-66 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Raffaella Balestrini ◽

Carlo Andrea Delconte ◽

Andrea Buffagni ◽

Alessio Fumagalli ◽

Michele Freppaz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Solution ◽

Forest Ecosystem ◽

Forest Floor ◽

Mineral Soil ◽

Chemical Species ◽

Organic N ◽

Seasonal Temperature ◽

Inorganic N ◽

Forest Floor Leachates ◽

Throughfall Deposition

A number of studies have reported decreasing trends of acidifying and N deposition inputs to forest areas throughout Europe and the USA in recent decades. There is a need to assess the responses of the ecosystem to declining atmospheric pollution by monitoring the variations of chemical species in the various compartments of the forest ecosystem on a long temporal scale. In this study, we report on patterns and trends in throughfall deposition concentrations of inorganic N, dissolved organic N (DON) and C (DOC) over a 20-year (1995–2015) period in the LTER site -Val Masino (1190 m a.s.l.), a spruce forest, in the Central Italian Alps. The same chemical species were studied in the litter floor leachates and mineral soil solution, at three different depths (15, 40 and 70 cm), over a 10-year period (2005–2015). Inorganic N concentration was drastically reduced as throughfall and litter floor leachates percolated through the topsoil, where the measured mean values (2 µeq L-1) were much lower than the critical limits established for coniferous stands (14 µeq L-1). The seasonal temperature dependence of throughfall DOC and DON concentration suggests that the microbial community living on the needles was the main source of dissolved organic matter. Most of DOC and DON infiltrating from the litter floor were retained in the mineral soil. The rainfall amount was the only climatic factor exerting a control on DOC and N compounds in throughfall and forest floor leachates over a decadal period. Concentration of SO4 and NO3 declined by 50% and 26% respectively in throughfall deposition. Trends of NO3 and SO4 in forest floor leachates and mineral soil solution mirrored declining depositions. No trends in both DON and DOC concentration and in DOC/DON ratio in soil solutions were observed. These outcomes suggest that the declining NO3 and SO4 atmospheric inputs did not influence the dynamic of DON and DOC in the Val Masino forest. The results of this study are particularly relevant, as they are based on a comprehensive survey of all the main compartments of the forest ecosystem. Moreover, this kind of long-term research has rarely been carried out in the Alpine region.

Download Full-text